I am writing to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven for [Jesus’] name’s sake. — 1 John 2:12 ESV
Can there possibly be better news than “your sins are forgiven”? If so, it eludes me. A slate forever wiped clean brings great gladness, as Israel’s King David penned to lyrics, “Oh, what joy for those whose disobedience is forgiven, whose sin is put out of sight! Yes, what joy for those whose record the Lord has cleared of guilt. . .”1 What great relief! Yet in complete candor, I confess difficulty in understanding or even appreciating the “for Jesus’ sake” part of my forgiveness. Shouldn’t my forgiveness be for my sake? (I speak from a fleshy perspective.) And if my forgiveness is for Jesus’ sake, am I reduced to mere collateral in the scheme of things?
Au contraire! Consider some of the things the I AM does for His own sake. For His sake, He leads us in paths of righteousness,2 pardons our guilt,3 blots out our transgressions,4 defers his anger,5 and forgives our sins.6 In acting for His own sake, God pours Himself into us in many ways; He is love at work. Then if God’s action on our behalf works for His sake — His purposes — what must we conclude but that our worth to Him shines brilliantly in the heavenlies?
But why does God do things for His own sake in the first place? “Everything comes from him and exists by his power and is intended for his glory,”7 writes the apostle Paul, and through Isaiah, God himself declares, “I alone am God! I am God, and there is none like me.”8 He is generosity amid our greed, justice amid our injustice, forgiveness amid our revenge, grace amid our retaliation, contentment amid our envy, resolution amid our conflict, fidelity amid our unfaithfulness, perfection amid our ruin, and life beyond our death. God is everything we desire when we lament what is. He alone is is worthy for all things to be for His sake and for the sake of His Son, and it is fitting, even necessary, that it be so.
Then thank God for not allowing Himself to be anything less than He is, but acting instead for His own sake. And rejoice that He has made us His own, for in Him we live for goodness sake.
“Not to us, Lord, not to us but to your name be the glory, because of your love and faithfulness.”9 For the sake of Christ we are forgiven, and in His name we pray. Amen.
1 Psalm 32:1-2 NLT
2 Psalm 23:3
3 Psalm 25:11
4 Isaiah 43:25
5 Isaiah 48:9
6 1 John 2:12
7 Romans 11:36 NLT
8 Isaiah 46:8-9 ESV
9 Psalm 115:1 NIV
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Paul Nordman—Author 